


The Softest Light

by inatrice



Category: Voltron: Legendary Defender
Genre: Excessive use of pet names, Family Fluff, Implied Sexual Content, Introspection, M/M, Married Sheith, Post-Canon, Quintessence Changing Aspects of the Human Biology, Service Dogs, Slice of Life, Tooth-Rotting Fluff, Trans Keith (Voltron), Way post-canon like 20 years after
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-06-03
Updated: 2018-06-03
Packaged: 2019-05-17 13:03:10
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,077
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/14832776
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/inatrice/pseuds/inatrice
Summary: A look into Shiro and Keith's life after they return to Earth long term.But mostly travelling had given them time that the war had taken away from them. They allowed themselves to fall back in love, to reassure themselves that, against all odds, they were alive and still together. Fighting the Galra had changed them, but their devotion had never wavered.





	The Softest Light

**Author's Note:**

  * For [swallowed_stars](https://archiveofourown.org/users/swallowed_stars/gifts).



> HAPPY BIRTHDAY CHEL!! I love you so much and I'm so happy that we became friends. You mean so much to me so of course I gotta give you a gift for your special day!! I hope you like it! I tried to put things in that I've seen you talk about before! PLEASE ENJOY BBY!!

Shiro’s eyes cracked open at the rustling sound in the bedroom. He felt his heart rate spike, and adrenaline shoot through his system as he glanced around and realized he wasn’t in his bunk on the Castle Ship. But then there was a cool, wet nudge at his hand that was flung off the side of the bed. His eyes snapped to the sensation as it turned soft, just to see Ulaz, his black and white border collie, push his head under Shiro’s hand. With a breath, he felt his oncoming anxiety ease in an instant at his service dog’s grounding presence. Shiro looked up at the clock, it was just after six in the morning; Ulaz needed to go out for his routine scout of their wide backyard. With a soft sigh and a pat to Ulaz’s head, Shiro pushed himself up, plush white sheets settling around his waist. There was another movement to his right and a black floof of hair emerged from beneath the comforter, slender arms winding their way around his waist. Shiro couldn’t help the tender smile that curled the ends of his lips as he ran his hand through Keith’s hair, a sprinkling of silver shimmering in the grey morning light.

“You better come back to bed after you let Ullie out.” Keith mumbled into his bare hip, lips tickling at Shiro’s skin. “It’s Saturday. No one should be awake right now.”

Shiro chuckled lightly and leaned down to place a kiss to Keith’s hair. “I’ll be right back, baby.”

Keith squeezed him once before relinquishing his hold and pulling the covers back over his head. Shiro slid out from the blankets with a soft smile on his lips and pulled on his pajama pants, cartoon lion heads and all, that had been thrown aside some time last night. Ulaz trotted over to the door and Shiro followed just behind. The pair paused at the second bedroom door, listening for any sounds from the little body that slept inside. Ara was five now, but he was just as fiercely protective as the day she had been born. He didn’t think he could help himself. It was only after two solid years of therapy for them both and some coaxing from Keith did Shiro agree to try for a child. Money wasn’t the issue, they had settlements and grants from multiple governments and institutions, and they had had their home custom built with family in mind after they finally decided to stay on Earth long term again. But after seeing the horrors the universe had to offer, Shiro needed to be sure he could regulate himself and his environment before he could confidently create another life. 

When both he and Ulaz satisfied that there was nothing to worry about, the two padded carefully down the stairs and to the back of the house. Shiro opened the sliding door and Ulaz, free for the moment from work, zipped out of the house and flew off of the porch. Shiro smiled as he watched him sprint the perimeter of the yard before setting about his doggy duties.

Sometimes, especially on mornings like this, Shiro still found it hard to believe he made it here; from being captured by aliens and fighting an eons old intergalactic war to a humble home back on Earth with a family he had given up hope on ever having. They had won the war, in the end, but they had sacrificed so much between them, he and Keith, limbs, years of their life, their sanity. It was worth it in the end, though, to tear down the reign of a twisted tyrant and to free billions of people from oppression. Shiro closed his eyes and shook his head at the thought. The sheer magnitude of what Team Voltron and the coalition had accomplished was baffling to him and a strain for the human mind to comprehend. It was why he and Keith had spent so much time travelling after the war was over, to try and understand what they had done and to reach out to those they had helped, a gesture that the Galra hadn’t ever taken the time for. 

It had also given the two of them time to themselves, time to accomplish a dream that had been too far fetched to ever be considered realistic way back during their Garrison days. Traveling to alien planets and learning what other species had to offer in knowledge, culture, and technology. They always let Keith try their fastest crafts and let Shiro talk with their most respected scholars. He still couldn’t believe all the amazing things out there in the universe.

But mostly it had given them time that the war had taken away from them. They allowed themselves to fall back in love, to reassure themselves that, against all odds, they were alive and still together. Fighting the Galra had changed them, but their devotion had never wavered. 

With a soft sigh, Shiro left Ulaz to his morning routine, turning away from the backdoor and turning on the coffee maker. The others would be up soon enough, but for now he went back upstairs, just as he’d promised his husband. They had been married for fifteen years, though technically it was even more if they counted all the light years they had travelled. Their first ceremony had taken place on Arus, where their whirlwind adventures had all started, and in the Altean tradition, with Coran officiating, and their fellow Paladins as the wedding party. Even most of the Blades had shown up as well to celebrate with them, Krolia and Kolivan included. When they had come back to Earth seven years ago, they had another ceremony to make everything Earth official and for the insurance benefits, as boring as it all seemed after traversing the universe. 

Keith peeped over the edge of the comforter as Shiro walked back into bedroom, his violet eyes much more awake now. 

“Took you long enough.”

Shiro rolled his eyes as he climbed back into bed. “Sorry, babe.” He apologized as Keith snuggled into his side and he wrapped his arms around him. “I was thinking.”

“Good things?” Keith asked, a momentary tenseness in his muscles.

“Yeah, don’t worry.” Shiro assured him, pressing his lips to Keith’s forehead. He let his eyes fall closed again as he listened to his husband’s breathing and felt his warm, comforting weight in his arms. “Did you sleep well?”

“After what we did last night? Like a fucking baby.” Keith said with a smile in his voice. The two of them were both comfortably middle aged, Shiro’s hair was more white than black now, but the prolonged exposure to Quintessence had more side effects than being able to see inside each others heads. Neither of them felt much older than their mid-twenties, and their bodies still functioned especially well. And there was no drop in libido for either of them so far. “I’m not even sure I’ll be able to walk right today.”

Shiro snorted. “Speaking of which, you should probably put your pants back on, too. I’m sure Ara will be in here any moment.”

Keith groaned into his shoulder. “This is why I tell you not to let Ullie out right away, you nugget. She hears you up and comes right in.”

“At least she  _ waits _ for that now.” Shiro told him with a squeeze. “Goodbye awkward naked mornings.”

“Welcome back sex life.” Keith said dreamily.

“Pants, babe.” Shiro reminded him gently, nudging him with his chin.

“Get them for me?” Keith asked, looking up at him with a small pout and puppy dog eyes. It would have been a crime against humanity to say no to those eyes, sparkling in the growing morning light.

Shiro sighed and pushed himself back out of bed. “I still need to tell Allura to add your pout to the list of intergalactically banned weapons.” He swiped the lion dotted red cloth of Keith’s pajama pants off of their hardwood floor and bounced back onto the mattress. “You’re lucky I love you.”

“Yeah. I really am.” Keith said, voice suddenly sincere. He reached forward to Shiro’s face instead, cupping his whiskered jaw and drawing him into a kiss.

If there was anything that Shiro would never grow tired of, it would be kissing Keith. Each one was special, and each one sent sparks through his blood, making him melt from the inside out. They fit together perfectly, two complete parts coming together to make a masterpiece. That he was even allowed to have Keith this way, to be able to see him completely at ease and vulnerable, made Shiro feel like the most important man in the universe - Head of Voltron aside.

Keith gently pulled back and pressed their foreheads together. “I love you, Takashi.” He said quietly. “And I always will.”

Shiro bit his lip before he kissed his husband again softly. “I love you, too, Keith. Forever.”

They smiled at each other for a few moments before Keith relented and stood to put his pants back on. Almost the same second the waistband was pulled up and around his hips, there was a soft knock at the door and a small dark-haired head popped inside.

“Daddy, you’re up?” came a surprised voice. “I thought I heard Papa.”

“Hi, pumpkin.” Keith said, a smile splitting his face in two as he turned to the door. “You did. But we’re both up. C’mon in.”

Shiro sat up as their daughter came into the bedroom, little feet tiptoeing across the dark wood. She clutched at the hem of her white sleepy shirt, one of Shiro’s old t-shirts from the Garrison. It looked like a dress on the five-year-old. “Good morning, Papa.”

“Good morning, sweet pea.” Shiro said, picking her up like she weighed nothing and placing her next to him in the middle of the bed. He brushed her mop of wild hair off of her face and pressed a kiss to her cheek. “Did you sleep well?”

Ara giggled as his unshaven face tickled her cheek. “Yes Papa. I had a dream Ullie helped me catch a butterfly and I showed it to Aunt ‘Llura and Uncle Lance and we named it Pidge ‘cuz it was green and Grandma came over and we went to catch more butterflies.” She told him, her grey eyes dazzling as she gave the details.

The two men laughed at their daughter’s excitement at her dream. Keith slid back into bed, pulling the covers back up to his waist, and looked at Ara with all the love in the world. She had his hair and her Papa’s eyes and she was perfect, they both thought so.

“I’ll see if Grandma can visit in a few weeks, okay?” Keith promised her, leaning back on the pillows. “I’m sure she would love to try and catch butterflies with you and Ullie.”

“Yay!” Ara squealed, wiggling in her spot. “But only if Ullie isn’t working, right, Daddy?”

“That’s right.” Keith said, looking up at her from where he was lying down. “You’ll have to ask Papa if he can play when Grandma is here.”

Quick as lightning, Ara’s head whipped around to Shiro, excitement in her eyes. “Can he Papa? Can Ullie catch butterflies with me like in my dream?”

Shiro smiled at his daughter and at his husband, his chest suddenly tight with how much he loved them. A family, something he thought he would never get to have after all of his time spent in space, fighting for the freedom of people he’d never met, fighting an empire that had formed when humans were coming out of the last ice age. Something that had taken him over a decade to accept that he deserved to have. He could never deny either of them anything, not when they made him this happy, made him feel this safe.

“Of course, sweetie.” Shiro told her. “When Grandma visits next, Ullie can have a whole day off, how about that?”

Ara let out a high pitched whoop and threw herself back into the pillows between her two dads. Shiro laughed and gathered the other two in his arms, kissing both of their heads. This is what he had fought for. This is what made all the pain worth it. This is where he belonged. At home with the family he had built with Keith, their daughter squished between them. 

**Author's Note:**

> THE END!!!! I hope you liked it!!! I know it's not much but I wanted to do something! I hope you've had a fabulous day, you deserve it.
> 
> Please follow Chel on twitter because she's amazing and magical and funny and extremely relatable, @lunariiums
> 
> And if you like, follow me as well @inatrice


End file.
